There were more than ____ students by 2009.

There were more than ____ students by 2009.

• A. 3,000
• B. 4,000
• C. 6,000
• D. 5,000

Answer: (D)

The data for 2009 show the student count is just over five thousand but not reaching six thousand. When asked to fill in “There were more than ____ students by 2009,” you want the largest threshold that the actual number clearly exceeds. Since the count is over 5,000 but not over 6,000, the best fit is five thousand. The other options are either clearly too small (they’re surpassed, but they don’t reflect the actual scale as closely) or too large (exceeding what the data show).